CI-23 Developing a Second-Year Experience Initiative on a Foundation of Theory, Best Practices, Education and Assessment

Northern Illinois University• Comprehensive, public, Research I-Extensive institution • Located in DeKalb, Illinois 65 miles west of Chicago • 75-80% of student body comes from metropoli

Developing a Second-Year Experience Initiative

on a Foundation of Theory, Best Practices, Education, and Assessment

Denise L Rode, Ed.D.

Director, First- and Second-Year Experience

Northern Illinois University

drode@niu.edu

Northern Illinois University

• Comprehensive, public, Research I-Extensive institution

• Located in DeKalb, Illinois (65 miles west of Chicago)

• 75-80% of student body comes from metropolitan Chicago

• Majority of students in upper-division are transfer students

• Primarily residential, but also many commuters

• Major programs include College of Business, School of Nursing, health-related majors,

• music, art, engineering, education

• Approximately 2,650 freshmen; sophomore class of approximately 1,800 (but many more fall into 30-59 credit hour category)

• First- to second-year retention rate of approximately 72%; many students in good academic standing leave between second and third years

Charge to Develop a Pilot Sophomore

Year Experience Initiative

• Strategic Planning proposal for an SYE was written in 2008 but was not funded in favor of Foundations of Excellence® initiative

• Came from the Vice President of Student Affairs & Enrollment Management in July 2011

• Two directors were selected to run the pilot—Executive Director

of Housing & Dining and Director of Orientation & First-Year

Experience

• One “driver” of this initiative was the plan to go to a

second-year residency requirement in 2015

• Co-chairs met to constitute committee and develop plan

• Committee composed of professional staff, faculty, and

graduate students, met every three weeks

• Sub-committees formed around key events (Sophomore

Summit, Benchmarking, Sophomore Survey)

Starting Points

• Find your natural allies and support from above

• Convene a committee

• Audit of existing programs and services that can be

“packaged” and promoted for the SYE

• Do existing groups of primarily second-year students exist? If so, partner with them

• Start with 2-3 “signature” initiatives

• Develop communication pieces

Starting Points

• Put together a “dog and pony show” to take to campus

stakeholders; get on agendas of key committees (Student Affairs Cabinet, Faculty Senate, President’s Cabinet, Supportive

Professional Staff Council, Operating Staff Council); ask THEM what they think second-year students need

• Develop a “sounding board” of current sophomores and/or juniors; find out what they need

• Don’t only talk to involved second-year students; find those who

aren’t highly engaged and learn what would get them engaged

• Beg, borrow, and (maybe not) steal resources to develop early

initiatives

• Get on the SYE-list through the NRC, and learn what colleagues are doing on their campuses

Educating Ourselves about the

Sophomore Year Experience

• Co-chairs of Task Force began to comb the

literature about the SYE in 2011-2012

• Used Spring 2013 as a time to educate ourselves on the SYE

– Academic Impressions online course

– Summit on Sophomore Success

– Attend programs on the SYE at regional and national conferences

– Read print and online articles on this topic of growing interest, but also look into other research which

supports student engagement and self-efficacy

Literature Review

• Hunter, M.S., Tobolowky, B.F., & Gardner, J.N & Associates (2009) Helping

sophomores succeed: Understanding and Improving the Second-Year Experience

Jossey-Bass: San Francisco.

• Juillerat, S L (2000) Assessing the expectations and satisfaction of sophomores In

L.A Schreiner & J Pattengale (Eds.), Visible solutions for invisible students: Helping

sophomores succeed (Monograph No 31, pp 19-30) Columbia, SC: University of

South Carolina, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students

in Transition

• Pattengale, J (2000) Policies and practices to enhance sophomore success In L A

Schreiner & Pattengale (Eds.), Visible solutions for invisible students: Helping

sophomores succeed (Monograph No 31, pp 31-46) Columbia, SC: University of

South Carolina, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students

in Transition

• Schaller, M A (2005) Wandering and wondering: Traversing the uneven terrain of the

second college year About Campus, 10(3), 17-24.

• Tobolowsky, B.F., & Cox, B.E (2007) Shedding light on sophomores: An exploration of

the Second College Year: An Exploration of the Second College Year National

Resource Center on the First-Year Experience® & Students in Transition: Columbia, SC.

Sophomore Summit

• 8:00 a.m Check-in & Refreshments

• 8:30 a.m Welcome & Opening Remarks

Multipurpose Room Dr Brian O Hemphill, Vice President for Student Affairs & Enrollment

Management

• 8:45 a.m Keynote Address

Multipurpose Room Dr Molly A Schaller, Assistant Professor & Coordinator of College

Student Personnel Program at the University of Dayton

• 10:00 a.m Who are NIU Sophomores?

Multipurpose Room Panel of NIU Experts:

Dan House, Director of Institutional Research

Tim Griffin, University Ombudsman

Michelle Pickett, Director of Academic Advising Center

Joyce Keller, Associate Director of Career Services

Brandon Lagana, Director of Mktg & Info Res Mgmt.

• 11:00 a.m Small Group Conversations

• 12:00 p.m Small Group Debriefing

Sophomore Summit

• 12:30 p.m Lunch in the Dining Area

• 1:15 p.m Panel of NIU Sophomores

Smart Classroom Jenna Marchiorello, Major: Operations Mgmt & Info Systems

Daihee Cho, Major: Accountancy

Shondell Coleman, Major: Organizational Business Management

Sarah Steubing, Major: Biological Sciences

Diana Sanderson, Major: Marketing

• 2:00 p.m Remarks and Activity Session

Smart Classroom Dr Tricia Zelaya, Visiting Professor, Counseling, Adult & Higher Education

• 3:00 p.m Refreshments

• 3:00 p.m Small Group Conversations

• 4:00 p.m Where do we go from here?

Smart Classroom Dana Gautcher, Director of Student Academic Success

Denise Rode, Director of Orientation & First-Year Experience

Mike Stang, Executive Director of Housing & Dining

Academic Integration

Sense of Self

Social Engagement/ Quality Relationships

Not yet considering

major

Deeply Committed to Major

Following others, Withdrawing, Following

Unsophisticated in

selection of friends/

evaluation of

PROPOSED SOPHOMORE YEAR

CONTINUA

Schaller, 2011

Stages of the Sophomore Year

Schaller (2005)

Stages have tone and content

Students may experience multiple stages at one time Major content areas: Relationships, Self, Academics

Random Exploration: exuberance, lack reflection

Focused Exploration: frustration, reflection begins

Tentative Choices: relief, some lingering anxiety –

action begins

Commitment: confidence

Theoretical Foundation

• Epistemological Development

– How is it that students view knowledge?

– Key to understanding the pedagogical

challenges with sophomore students

– Includes moral development – as the question

of frame of reference is a key to understand the inherent pressures facing students

• Psycho/social development

– How one sees self in relation to the world or others impacts choices on many levels.

• Sophomore-Year Experience Survey

– Developed by Laurie Schreiner at Azusa

Pacific University

– Sent by e-mail link to approx 1,700 year students in March

second-– Advertised by posters, social media,

announcements at student organization

meetings

– 221 student respondents, “survey fatigue” – Incentives given

Survey Results showed that NIU second-year

students are:

• Hard-working and resourceful but may not always

be engaged in their course work

• Somewhat ambivalent about their NIU experience

• Many students indicated a sense of belonging at NIU but others weren’t convinced of the value of their education

• Approximately 20% had not yet chosen a major

• About 20% would not be considered as “thriving”

Focus Groups

• Students gathered from student

organizations and second-year leadership positions

• These students were “thriving”

• Efforts should be made for more

representative focus groups

• Common concerns were time management, finances, and lack of connection to major

• Changing relationships

Benchmarking Best Practices

• 34 institutions

• Asked questions about:

– Programming

– Mission/philosophy/objectives – Structure/support

– Marketing

– Assessment

– Future plans

Benchmarking Best Practices

• Where housed in the university

– Academic Advising

– Residence Life

– Student Involvement/Activities – Career Services

– Specific Academic Department – Student Affairs

– Free standing unit

Benchmarking Best Practices

• Oversight

– Sophomore or Second-Year Office

– Committee of faculty, staff and students – Academic Affairs unit

– Student Affairs unit

Benchmarking Best Practices

• Program examples

– Fall kick-off events

– Retreats and trips

– Career/Internship workshops and fairs

– Mentoring programs

– Study Abroad programs

– Financial Aid, Scholarships, Campus Employment

– Service events

– Recognition events

– Sophomore seminars

Issues facing Second Year Students

• Academic majors and

From NIU survey, focus group

data, and benchmarking

conducted in Spring 2012, we

recommend that NIU SYE focus on

the following four areas:

• Major selection and confirmation

Draft Goals for second-year students (Y2@NIU) include:

• Increase awareness of the unique issues

second-year students face

• Promote engagement in the university and

surrounding community

• Develop and hone academic and personal skills

• Prepare for pre-professional and professional

experiences

• Enhance communication with university faculty and staff

• Meeting with an academic advisor or career

specialist at least twice during the second year

Mission Statement:

The Second-Year Experience at Northern

Illinois University assists students in exploring the unique critical issues and tasks of the

second year of college.  In partnership with the Divisions of Academic Affairs and Student Affairs & Enrollment Management, the

Second-Year Experience intentionally provides support for students by:

 Connecting them to peers, faculty, staff, and

campus resources in meaningful ways;

 Building class community in and out of the

classroom;

 Defining academic and co-curricular goals for the NIU experience;

 Educating faculty, staff, and families about the

challenges and opportunities in the second year; and

 Examining institutional policies and practices from

a second-year perspective.

Sophomore Newsletter/

Common Reading Experience

Sophomore Common Reading Experience

Sophomore Retreat

Sophomore Retreat

Sophomore Welcome/

Resource Fair

Sophomore Welcome/

Resource Fair

Sophomore Strengths Course

Sophomore Strengths Course

Sophomore Days of Service

Sophomore Days of Service

Exploring Majors FairExploring Majors Fair

Mid-Semester Check for Sophomores

Mid-Semester Check for Sophomores

Dinner Series/

Faculty Stories / Etiquette Dinner

Dinner Series/

Faculty Stories / Etiquette Dinner

Internship Career FairsInternship Career Fairs

Study Abroad FairStudy Abroad Fair

SYE Recommendations

• Adopt an SYE mission statement as developed by SYE staff,

second-year students, and the SYE steering committee

• Continue to develop specific SYE initiatives as well as “packaging” existing programs and services

• Continue to assess the impact of the second year of college,

especially for those students who may not have a natural

connection to the University

• Develop an informative, exciting Web presence for the SYE

• Create a monthly electronic newsletter to connect second-year students to initiatives intentionally planned to promote their growth and development

• Communicate on a quarterly basis with families of second-year students, beginning in the summer before the sophomore year

• Expand the pilot Sophomore Days of Service offerings

SYE Recommendations

• Designate the month of September as a time of intensified

programming for second-year students

• Continue strategic planning for a comprehensive SYE

• Building on successful sponsorships from Kohl’s Wal-Mart, and

Target, continue to develop corporate partnerships to support the SYE

• Support the development of a Second-Year Living Learning

Community

• Consider the development of a sophomore retreat series and a

Second-Year Success Series

• Participate in the “Bark ‘Til Dark” schedule of activities with events that connect second-year students with faculty; student/faculty events also can be scheduled at alternate times

• Partner with Housing & Dining on a Second-Year Living Learning

Community.

Questions/Discussion